Amid a dream run in Ranji Trophy, Cheteshwar Pujara opens up on age factor as stumbling block between his India return

Chesteshwar Pujara has been the Indian Test batter for more than a decade. The 36-year-old Saurashtra batter has amassed 7,195 runs for India in 103 test matches at a healthy average of 43.6. But since the last three years, he has seen a slump in his batting performance and during this time if you take out his 90 and 102 runs innings against Bangladesh then he has a paltry average of only 26 in this format.

Unfortunately for Pujara, the other two stalwarts of the Indian test side Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane also witnessed a decline in their Test career which made Pujara’s poor form in tests, an even bigger issue ultimately resulting in him getting dropped from the Test side.

Pujara’s Age Conundrum

Getting dropped at the age of 36 can be very detrimental for South Asian batters especially if you are only a one-format player as it makes your comeback into the team even more difficult as selectors tend to look beyond you after a certain age even if you are scoring big runs in the domestic circuit.

Currently, Chesteshwar Pujara is also facing a similar kind of issue where he has made 673 runs in the last 10 innings of the Ranji Trophy at a staggering average of 74.78 which also involves a brilliant 243 runs innings against Jharkhand. Still, Pujara has been overlooked by the Indian selector for the remaining three test matches against England because the selectors want to invest in youngsters.

Although Pujara is not at all bogged down with his non-selection, neither he is too worried about his age factor as he is currently getting inspired by England’s James Anderson who is still getter the better the world-class batter in subcontinent conditions at the age of 41.

Speaking in an interview with Hindustan Times Pujara said, “I genuinely feel that age is just a number (he just turned 36). You have the example of James Anderson who is bowling fast at 41 and is still England’s best bowler. Novak Djokovic recently said that 35 is the new 25. Dynamics of the game is changing and players are getting fitter.”
He further added, “I don’t think age is any longer a barrier. Particularly for players who play only one format, which I think has helped me immensely. If I am playing only Tests, I can maintain my body better. You just have to keep working on fitness. That holds even if you are a 25-year-old.”